In reaction to the Supreme Court ruling on Friday that declared same-sex marriage a right nationwide, President Obama wrote on Twitter: "Today is a big step in our march toward equality. Gay and lesbian couples now have the right to marry, just like anyone else." Photo: Reuters

"Love wins," tweeted President Obama in response to the Supreme Court ruling on Friday that the Constitution guarantees the right to same-sex marriage in every state of the U.S. The number of states that granted recognition to same-sex marriages was 37 before the ruling.

Today is a big step in our march toward equality. Gay and lesbian couples now have the right to marry, just like anyone else. #LoveWins

The Obama administration had stepped up open declarations of its support of same-sex marriage over the course of his presidency. Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr., the Obama administration’s top appellate lawyer, said, “Gay and lesbian people are equal. They deserve equal protection of the laws, and they deserve it now."

Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the dissenting judges and one of the most conservative on the Supreme Court, questioned whether marriage and intimacy was in fact a right or freedom. “And if intimacy is, one would think Freedom of Intimacy is abridged rather than expanded by marriage,” Justice Scalia wrote. “Ask the nearest hippie.” He added, “The stuff contained in today’s opinion has to diminish this Court’s reputation for clear thinking and sober analysis.”

And former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, a Republican presidential candidate, echoed many conservative voices who have stated that the decision regarding same-sex marriage should be left up to the states, reports the New York Times. “Guided by my faith, I believe in traditional marriage,” he wrote in a statement. “I believe the Supreme Court should have allowed the states to make this decision.”

But Obama's message, in addition to the #LoveWins hashtag, was one of celebration: "Today is a big step in our march toward equality," he wrote on Twitter. "Gay and lesbian couples now have the right to marry, just like anyone else."